Shadows Dipped In Red
by Rubybird2329
Summary: All Amy wanted was to visit the museum with her friends and family, only for her world to be torn apart, and everything to go wrong. For Scrittore18's October Challenge.
1. The Game Has Begun

**A/N: Okay hello! This is gonna be a murder mystery, for Scrittore18's contest. Hopefully it turns out alright. Anywho this takes place AFTER the Vesper incident. Natalie although is alive, let's just pretend she was never dead in the first place.**

"Dan…" Amy sighed, a hand reaching up to rub her forehead in exasperation.

"But I don't wanna!" The boy whined

"Please?" Amy begged, "I just want to go to the museum with everyone else as a _family._ Even the Rosenblooms are going! Ian and Natalie rented out the WHOLE museum just for us!"

Dan took one look at his sister's pleading face, complete with the pouting lip and puppy eyes, and caved. "Fine." He grumbled, ashamed he had fallen for it AGAIN.

"Thanks Dan!" Amy cheered, hugging her younger brother tightly.

"Yeah yeah." Dan mumbled as he reluctantly returned the hug.

"Let's go!" Exclaimed Amy as she pulled away. "Dan hurry up and get dressed. We gotta be there by 11:00."

Six minutes later Dan was dressed, Amy, for some weird reason, had already been ready to go.

"BYE SALADIN!" Amy and Dan called in unison as they walked out the door. "BYE NELLIE!"

30 minutes later the brother and sister duo were at the museum entrance, opening the doors and walking in to see everyone else that was in the Clue Hunt, plus the Rosenblooms, waiting for them.

"Greetings, love." Ian purred, taking Amy's hand and placing a kiss on it.

"Ian," Amy sighed. "I told you not to call me that." She said as she pulled her hand away.

(Somewhere, in the back, Atticus would turn to his older brother when he heard a scoff. "What's wrong bro?" He asked, Jake's frown growing deeper. "I'm gonna kill that arsehole." He hissed dangerously, his hands clenching into fists. _Jeez._ Atticus thought as he inwardly shuddered. _Talk about anger issues._ )

Then, a person who worked at the museum walked out, smiling. "Hello! I will be your tour guide for the length of your visit, my name is Catherine, please, call me Cat." Catherine, err, Cat said.

The group waved and all said hello, and as Catherine led them to the first artifact, and started explaining, a small and dark chuckle could be heard, a voice whispering, "Let the game begin."


	2. Disappearance

**A/N: Chapter 2 is up! Apologies if you read chapter 2 BEFORE I fixed it. I accidentally posted the first chapter as chapter 1 and chapter 2. Sorry about that. Anyway, on with the story!**

"This artifact was found in 1964, historians say that it had belonged to an ancient, Egyptian Pharaoh that lived in 374 B.C." Cat explained, gesturing to the object as the Cahills gathered around it to 'ooh' and 'ah' over the vase. One person, however, stood back with a bored expression on his face.

"I wanna see something cool!" Dan whined, not getting why everyone was gathered around a boring old plant holder.

Cat simply smiled, knowing the perfect thing to show him. "Come over here everyone!" She called, walking over to a tall glass case, inside of it was a sword, the blade was silver, a diamond pattern on the handle. "This is the sword that belonged to the famous samurai Sanada Yukimura." Cat grinned

Dan immediately got closer, stopping at the red velvet rope that circled around the case. "COOL!" He said excitedly, admiring the weapon.

"I knew you would like it." Cat replied, pleased that the younger boy loved this artifact.

And that was when the lights went out.

A surprised exclamation rose from the group, Amy immediately grabbing Jake's arm tightly in shock and fear.  
"Calm down everyone. I'm sure It's just a malfunction with the lighting." The young tour guide reassured the frightened group. "We just have to wait a few minutes."

And so they waited, and waited, and waited. 10 minutes later the lights were still not on. "Hmm." Cat frowned in confusion as she walked over to the backup light switch. One flick of her wrist and the lights were back on. The Cahills let out a relieved sigh, particularly the girls. "Everyone is still here right?" Cat asked, scanning the group quickly.

They nodded, assuming everyone was still here. After all, who would want to walk around the dark by themselves with no idea where they were going? No one would, or so they thought, until someone spoke up.

"Not everyone is here…where's Ted?" Sinead asked, panic edging her words as she looked around frantically.

And then they heard the scream.


	3. Darkness After Death

**A/N: Hello it's the third chapter! Sorry, I deleted the story Crimson Shadows because I made a huge mistake, the new story I have renamed Shadows Dipped In Red.**

"TED?!" Sinead yelled out, the group immediately starting to run to where the scream came from. "TED WHERE ARE YOU?!" She yelled as she pushed herself to run faster.

None of them, however, had noticed that another person wasn't here. Or anywhere near them.

And so the search continued. The distant relatives and friends ran down the hallway, as well as the tour guide, sprinting even faster when they heard Sinead, who was way ahead of them, let out a horrified scream.

"Sinead?!" Amy called out for her best friend, skidding to a stop as she spotted the older girl on her knees, sobbing as the body of her brother lay in front of her. "Ted…" Amy whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. Though she rarely interacted with the boy, he was her best friend's brother, and not to mention a very distant relative. She stared at the body for a moment, it was a gruesome mess. Blood seeped out onto the marble floor, guts where strewn across the ground and Ted's eyes were still open, blank and emotionless.

"Oh my god…" Cat whispered, her hands cupping over her mouth. "I'm calling the police." She rushed to a nearby wall phone, as she was not allowed to have her portable phone with her when she worked. She dialed 911, waiting for the line to pick up. The receiver answered soon, " _Hello this is 911, what's your emergency?"_

"H-hello?" Cat replied, the young woman's voice shook as she spoke. "Someone has committed a m-murder here. C-can you please send help?"

The person replied almost immediately, " _Of course. What is your address and we'll send some officers there right away."_

Cat sighed in relief, continuing the conversation urgently. "Y-yes. Thank you. Our address is-" _**Click!**_ Cat dropped the phone in surprise and shock. "Someone cut the line." She whispered in realization.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Cahill's had reached the scene of the crime long ago, most of the girls starting to weep over the body, the boys standing there in shock or anger, the angry ones promising a fate worse than death for the one who killed the young boy.

Amy sniffled, wiping the last of her tears away. "Everyone!" She called out, standing up. "We have to find out who did this! Or else we all will meet the same fate." Her expression was serious, voice grim.

"But who else would be in the building?" Reagan asked, confusion showing on her face. "I thought Ian and Natalie rented this place out just for us."

"We did." Natalie scoffed. "Obviously someone broke in." She explained

Dan, however, could not help but notice the corner of her lip twitching upwards, as if she was going to smirk. He shook it off though, he was definitely imagining it. After all, Natalie wouldn't be happy about Ted dying would she?

And then the lights went out again.


	4. A Possible Murder

**A/N: Chapter 4! WOO! Who will die next? You'll find out soon. *Evilly chuckles* Anyway on with the show! Err story.**

 _And then the lights went out again._

This time, the Cahills had expected this, but it was the timing that sent them into shock. Someone screamed, and there was a gurgling sound, as if someone had spit bubbling up their throat, but it wasn't spit. It was blood. The lights flicked on again, but this time they were dim, dim enough so that shadows could seep down the walls, and onto the floor partially before the light scared it away.

Amy opened her eyes, her grip on Jake's arm tightening with every second. She let out a whimper, scared to see who would be dead next. Jake gently pried Amy's hands off his arm, clutching her smaller hand in his bigger one instead. Amy looked around, freezing at the sight of a shocked Ian, a sword sticking out of his stomach. A small gasp was heard, the attacker not visible as she or he was hidden in the darkness.

"IAN!" Amy screeched as the boy fell to the floor, blood slowly seeping out from his stomach, everyone else rushing to Ian's side.

"I….s-saw…wh-who it was…" Ian croaked out slowly, pausing to cough out blood.

"D-don't speak Ian. I-It'll make it w-worse." Amy sobbed, no one noticed the person who had disappeared silently, then reappeared right now.

"T-the murderer…i-is…" Ian rasped, reaching out to hold his crying sister's hand. "N-" The bleeding boy's head fell to the ground, his eyelids fluttering shut. Sinead rushed over, checking his pulse.

"He's still alive, he is just unconscious from blood loss." The still grieving adult informed them. "I need someone to go get a first aid kit. Now."

"I know where it is." Cat volunteered, after getting a nod from Sinead, she rushed off, heading towards the employees lounge.

Meanwhile, Amy and the others were gathered in a circle, a piece of paper laid out in front of Amy as she pulled a pen out of her purse. "We need to figure out who the murderer is, so we can stop him or her." Amy said firmly. "Everyone was here during the first murder, right?"

Everyone nodded, a voice speaking up.

"The thing is, I didn't see Atticus, Madison, or Jonah here when we were gathered around Ted's body." Natalie said, shooting suspicious glares at the three mentioned.

"We stopped." Atticus admitted. "We were talking about who could have taken Ted. I mean, we were all here weren't we?" Jonah and Madison nodded, Amy writing down their names on the paper.

"I'm sorry Atticus, Madison, and Jonah but you are all suspects. I can't trust your alibi since there were no other witnesses. There are two options for who the murderer is. There are either two killers, working together or they have separate plans, or one killer, who is fairly sneaky." Amy concluded, tapping the pen on her chin thoughtfully.

Meanwhile at Ian's body, Cat had returned already, giving the medical kit to the smart girl as they bandaged Ian up.

Everyone in the circle looked at each other, nodding in unison.

"We have to find out who did this."


	5. Suspects And Swords

**A/N: Yay! Chapter…wait…what chapter is this? I've lost count. Hehe. Anyway sorry for not updating sooner because I couldn't get on yesterday. Let's get on with the chapter.**

 _"We have to find out who did this."_

"Alright, so was anyone else missing when we were running to Te- the body?" Amy quickly corrected herself, glancing at Sinead in worry as the older girl hugged her now only brother, Ned.

"Well I noticed Natalie was lagging behind." Someone who shall remain anonymous mentioned.

Said girl sniffed as everyone looked at her. "My shoes got some dust on them." She shot back with an indignant glare.

 _Of course._ Everyone else thought in exasperation. _Leave it to Natalie to worry about her shoes at a time like this._

"…Anyone else who was behind or not with the group?" Amy broke the silence quickly. "We are all suspects for the second murder, however, since the lights were off." The teenager sent an apologetic look to the Rosenblooms, who she was certain had nothing to do with being the murderer. "I'm leaning towards the mulit-killer option." She added as she wrote down everyone else's names, including herself.

"Wait…" Reagan hummed thoughtfully. "The killer hurt Ian with a sword…right?"

Amy nodded hesitantly, "Yes. Why?"

Madison snapped her fingers, catching on to her sister's thinking. "The sword from the glass case! The one that belonged to the samurai guy!"

Hamilton nodded, his mouth forming a small 'o' as he realized what his sisters were implying. "I'll go check the case!" He volunteered.

"Take someone with you." Amy told him, scanning the crowd. "…Cat."

The 24 year old looked up, nodding as she walked over to the man.

"Be careful and alert." Amy warned, worry sparking in her eyes, as well as a fierce determination to catch the killer.

Hamilton and Cat nodded, starting to walk off.

Amy closed her eyes, clutching her hands to her chest. "God, please keep them safe."


	6. Doors

Hamilton walked through the hallway, Cat trotting beside him quietly. The silence was unnerving. The only thing Hamilton could hear was the quiet _tap, tap, tap_ that came from Catherine's heeled boots. The man's eyes whirled around, never lingering in one place for too long. With a killer on the loose, you needed to be alert.

"We're almost there." Cat spoke suddenly, startling Hamilton slightly.

"Oh. Okay." He replied, the uncomfortable silence falling down on them once again.

Then the hallway opened up into the big room that held most of the artifacts. Hamilton immediately searched for the glass case, walking around to see everywhere. Recognizing the red, velvet rope that circled around the sword and it's case, he looked up immediately, not very surprised to see that the glass was broken, the beautiful and delicately made weapon gone from its position.

"They were right…" Cat whispered, touching the glass shards carefully.

"Yeah they were. Now let's get outta here before we become the killer's next victims." Hamilton warned, looking around. Cat nodded, her blue eyes widening considerably. The pair turned around, starting to jog back.

Meanwhile, with Amy and the others, they were trying to figure out who was the killer.

"Hamilton and Cat should be back soon." Sinead mentioned as the group chatted in quiet, hushed whispers.

Amy nodded, looking at a certain rich girl that cleared her throat.

"Yes, Natalie?" Amy asked, her brows furrowing in thought as she waited for a reply.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Natalie answered.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" Dan blurted out suddenly, startling everyone in the room, except for Ian, since he was well…unconscious. "You seriously tell us that you have to go to the _lavatory_ right now?!"

Amy, to say the least, was shocked. But not for the reason you may think. "Dan…knows what a lavatory is?!" She cried out in disbelief.

"That's what I was going to ask." Natalie said grimly.

"HEY!" Dan cried out, flabbergasted. "What kinda stupid guy do you take me for?!"

"A very stupid one, obviously." Ned said bluntly.

And so Dan scooted away, against the wall farthest from the shocked group as a dark aura of depression leaked out of him.

"Well it'll be a while till he's up and running again." Reagan commented, Madison nodding in agreement.

Amy shook her head in exasperation, sighing loudly as she muttered to herself about having a sister instead. "Anyway let's get back on track. Natalie, you can go to the bathroom but take Jonah with you."

Natalie sniffed in distaste, Jonah looked at Amy in despair. "C'mon Amy! Why ya gotta stick me with this party pooper? Da Wiz has got more important things to do! Like help my peeps with finding the murderer!" Jonah whined, trying to worm his way out of going with the "party pooper".

"Jonah…" Amy warned, glaring at her celebrity cousin.

"Alright, alright I'm going, I'm going." Jonah groaned as he dragged his feet, following his very, very distantly related cousin towards the restrooms.

"I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING!" Madison screeched suddenly, waving her arms in the air frantically.

"WHAT IS IT?!" Reagan yelled back

"CAN'T WE JUST WALK OUT THE DOOR AND BE DONE WITH THIS?!" Madison yelled out

"…" Everyone blinked.

"God I'm such an IDIOT." Amy groaned, face-palming.

"Yes Ames. Yes you are." Dan said, now no longer depressed as he patted his sister's head.


	7. Freedom

**A/N: Alright! I'm sorry for leaving you on a sort of (?) cliffie. BUT I am back so yeah. Sorry if my writing is worse than usual. I just read a Finding Nemo My Immortal and I can barely akjfbngsk. Anyways, please review and give me constructive criticism! I really need it…*Mumbles*.**

" _We're free!"_

Jake rushed outside, along with everyone else, into the cool night air. Judging by the position of the moon, he would say it was about midnight.

"OH SWEET MERCY!" Dan cried out, flinging himself onto the, cough, very dirty ground.

"I'll have you know, Daniel, that that ground you are hugging is repeatedly stepped on by shoes that have _god knows what_ attached to them." Natalie sneered at the boy.

Dan shrugged. "It's the same as when I don't take showers for a whole week. And _don't_ call me Daniel." He glared.

"I could have definitely lived without that information." Ned gagged.

"Shut up I'm calling 911." Sinead shushed the group, silence ensuing as the girl held her phone to her ear.

" _Hello, 911 what's your emergency?"_ The receiver answered fairly quickly.

"Hello? There has been multiple murders. Yes, this is Sinead Starling. Alright." The Starling quickly told the receiver their address, and he replied by telling them that the cops will be there soon.

XxXxXx

30 minutes later, 10 officers arrived. Half of them went to search the museum, carrying in the supplies needed to bring in the bodies as the other half questioned the nervous group.

"How did the first murder happen?" A female cop by the name of Dawn asked Amy.

"Well we were looking at an artifact, and then somehow the lights went off. When we finally got them back on, Ted was gone. We heard a scream and ran towards it. When we got there then he was dead." Amy recalled.

The authority figure nodded, writing in her notebook. "We will catch the killer, Ms. Cahill. You just rest. You and your friends have been through a lot."

Amy nodded, sitting against one of the stone pillars tiredly as the cops continued to ask everyone questions.

XxXxXx

When Dan and Amy finally got home, Nellie was still up. As they opened the door, Saladin trotted up, meowing in worry as if to demand and explanation of why they were gone.

"Amy! Dan!" Nellie exclaimed, running over as they entered. She pulled the duo into a bone crushing hug.

"N-Nellie…can't…breathe…." Dan wheezed.

"Serves ya right, kiddo!" Nellie pulled away, an angry look plastered onto her face. "I was worried sick! What took so long?!"

"Well uh we got trapped in the museum." Amy rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "And no one thought of opening the doors to walk out."

"Sometimes I wonder how you guys won the clue hunt." Nellie groaned.

"HEY!" chorused the two siblings.

"Anyway, what happened?" those were the words that brought the mood down.

"Ted and Jonah died, Ian was stabbed." Amy said miserably.

"…" Nellie, was speechless, to say the least. "Who would kill them?!" She demanded angrily.

"We don't know." Amy replied sadly.

"Ian is at the hospital, and the bodies are at the morgue, being examined for the cause of death." Dan butted in.

Nellie sighed. "Alright, get some rest. You need it, kiddos."

XxXxXx

"Ow!" Ian grimaced as the doctor stitched him up. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Hurry up please, Mr. Whats-your-name." she requested as she examined her nails.

"It's Mr. Leek." The doctor corrected, gritting his teeth in annoyance

"Whatever." Natalie sighed.

 _Spoiled rich kids! Ugh!_ The man thought in exasperation.

XxXxXx

 **A/N: And cut! XD. I hope you liked the chapter. They have been getting longer and longer slowly. Please review and tell me how you liked it!**


	8. The Aftermath

**A/N: Alright! I'm sorry for leaving you on a sort of (?) cliffie. BUT I am back so yeah. Sorry if my writing is worse than usual. I just read a Finding Nemo My Immortal and I can barely akjfbngsk. Anyways, please review and give me constructive criticism! I really need it…*Mumbles*.**

" _We're free!"_

Jake rushed outside, along with everyone else, into the cool night air. Judging by the position of the moon, he would say it was about midnight.

"OH SWEET MERCY!" Dan cried out, flinging himself onto the, cough, very dirty ground.

"I'll have you know, Daniel, that that ground you are hugging is repeatedly stepped on by shoes that have _god knows what_ attached to them." Natalie sneered at the boy.

Dan shrugged. "It's the same as when I don't take showers for a whole week. And _don't_ call me Daniel." He glared.

"I could have definitely lived without that information." Ned gagged.

"Shut up I'm calling 911." Sinead shushed the group, silence ensuing as the girl held her phone to her ear.

" _Hello, 911 what's your emergency?"_ The receiver answered fairly quickly.

"Hello? There has been multiple murders. Yes, this is Sinead Starling. Alright." The Starling quickly told the receiver their address, and he replied by telling them that the cops will be there soon.

XxXxXx

30 minutes later, 10 officers arrived. Half of them went to search the museum, carrying in the supplies needed to bring in the bodies as the other half questioned the nervous group.

"How did the first murder happen?" A female cop by the name of Dawn asked Amy.

"Well we were looking at an artifact, and then somehow the lights went off. When we finally got them back on, Ted was gone. We heard a scream and ran towards it. When we got there then he was dead." Amy recalled.

The authority figure nodded, writing in her notebook. "We will catch the killer, Ms. Cahill. You just rest. You and your friends have been through a lot."

Amy nodded, sitting against one of the stone pillars tiredly as the cops continued to ask everyone questions.

XxXxXx

When Dan and Amy finally got home, Nellie was still up. As they opened the door, Saladin trotted up, meowing in worry as if to demand and explanation of why they were gone.

"Amy! Dan!" Nellie exclaimed, running over as they entered. She pulled the duo into a bone crushing hug.

"N-Nellie…can't…breathe…." Dan wheezed.

"Serves ya right, kiddo!" Nellie pulled away, an angry look plastered onto her face. "I was worried sick! What took so long?!"

"Well uh we got trapped in the museum." Amy rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "And no one thought of opening the doors to walk out."

"Sometimes I wonder how you guys won the clue hunt." Nellie groaned.

"HEY!" chorused the two siblings.

"Anyway, what happened?" those were the words that brought the mood down.

"Ted and Jonah died, Ian was stabbed." Amy said miserably.

"…" Nellie, was speechless, to say the least. "Who would kill them?!" She demanded angrily.

"We don't know." Amy replied sadly.

"Ian is at the hospital, and the bodies are at the morgue, being examined for the cause of death." Dan butted in.

Nellie sighed. "Alright, get some rest. You need it, kiddos."

XxXxXx

"Ow!" Ian grimaced as the doctor stitched him up. "Ow! Ow! Ow!"

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Hurry up please, Mr. Whats-your-name." she requested as she examined her nails.

"It's Mr. Leek." The doctor corrected, gritting his teeth in annoyance

"Whatever." Natalie sighed.

 _Spoiled rich kids! Ugh!_ The man thought in exasperation.

XxXxXx

 **A/N: And cut! XD. I hope you liked the chapter. They have been getting longer and longer slowly. Please review and tell me how you liked it!**


	9. Happiness Within Despair

**A/N: Alright! Chapter 9! The killer will be revealed, so try to guess! Who will catch the killer? The Cahills or the police? Also, you might know where I got the name "Dawn" from. :3.**

XxXxXx

Sinead and Ned lay in one bed, neither of them wanted to sleep alone, after the ordeal that had just occurred.

"Goodnight, Ned." Sinead murmured as she hugged her only brother, closing her eyes.

Ned turned, so he was facing his sister curling inwardly slightly. "Goodnight, Sinead. I love you." The boy whispered back.

And that was when Sinead was certain that she would do anything for her brother.

XxXxXx

Madison, Reagan, and Hamilton stumbled into their home, exhausted. The trio slowly made their way to their separate rooms.

"Night, Hamilton and Reagan." Madison called, stumbling into her own room, not bothering to close the door as she threw herself onto her bed.

"Night." Reagan and Hamilton echoed, doing the same.

Madison half smiled, closing her eyes as she let the warm and welcoming arms of slumber pull her into a dream.

XxXxXx

 _A younger version of Madison ran around in a clear field, flowers and grass surrounding her. The child laughed happily, watching as Reagan did the same, and Hamilton smiled, watching them from the hill where their parents sat._

" _Hamilton!" Madison called, "Come play with us!"_

 _The already bulky boy smiled, shaking his head in a silent 'no'. "I'm happy just watching you, Maddy." Her brother shouted back, using his nickname for her._

 _Young Madison pouted, the frown disappearing as she watched as dandelion puffs float around her. The kid smiled, twirling around in her dress as she laughed._

" _Be careful, Madison!" Her parents yelled, her father particularly louder than her mother._

" _I am!" The girl replied, a white flash of fur catching her eye. She ceased to twirl, crouching with her hands on her knees as she watched the bunny hop around, nibbling on grass and flowers._

" _Hello, Bunny Rabbit! I'm Madison! What's your name?" Madison giggled._

 _Suddenly, foreign hands grabbed her, twirling the surprised girl around as the barrel of a gun rested against her temple. The cool metal pressed against her head, and Madison screamed._

" _MADISON!" Her mother shrieked._

" _MOMMY!" Madison sobbed, she was scared, and as the rough hands gripped her tightly, tears streamed down her face._

 _Madison watched as her family faded away, darkness surrounding her, as her family disappeared into the shadows._

XxXxXx

Madison jolted awake, meeting the dark eyes of Natalie Kabra as something sharp pressed against her neck. The girl froze. "N-Natalie? What are you doing?"

The Lucian didn't reply, a wicked smile etching onto her face. "Nighty night! Sleep tight!" She cooed, her fingers pulled the trigger of her dart gun, and Madison felt some kind of serum being injected into her bloodstream.

"H-HAMILTON!" Madison managed to yell, before her energy seeped away. As the girl slowly faded, her life flashed before her. Her family, the memory of the clear field and the bunny, the Clue Hunt, and finally, the day that they stopped the Vespers. Her eyes closed, her lips forming the words, 'Thank you' as she fell into darkness.

XxXxXx

Hamilton awoke, hearing his name being shouted. Madison. The Tomas jumped out of bed, rushing into his sibling's room.

"Madison? Madison wake up!" Hamilton shook his sister, panic laced in his words. The girl remained still, unmoving.

"REAGAN!" Hamilton yelled, tears forming in his eyes.

Said girl rushed in, her eyes wild and worried. "What? What is it? Madison?!"

"Sh-she isn't waking up." Hamilton said, his throat constricting painfully.

"No no no no no no no no NO NO!" Reagan screamed, shaking her sibling as tears streamed down her face. The Holt stopped, out of breath. "Please, please Madison don't do this to me." The girl sobbed hysterically, on her knees beside the bed.

But Madison wasn't waking up. And never was.

XxXxXx

 **A/N: I hope you liked it! So, if you guessed Natalie was the murderer, then you are correct! Cookies for you! (: :) (; :) (: :). Sorry, I had to kill Madison off. I was crying when I wrote the scene because I was listening to sad music. T_T.**


	10. Ashamed

**A/N: Wow. I didn't know that it is already the tenth chapter. *Sniffles* This story has c-come so f-f-far! *Starts sobbing loudly*.**

 _But Madison wasn't waking up. And never was._

XxXxXx

 _Ring! Ring!_

Dan Cahill answered the call, seeing as it was Hamilton. "Hello?"

"Hey Dan." Hamilton answered, his voice was shaky, and Dan could tell that the brute didn't get much sleep last night.

"Whatcha need, Ham?" Dan replied, worried.

"Madison is dead."

Dan stumbled slightly, as though the words actually struck him. "Wh-what? How?!" He stuttered, gripping the phone so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Me and Reagan think that someone po-poisoned her." Hamilton replied, his voice sounding strained, it pained him to talk about his lost sibling.

"Wh-what did you do with the body?" Dan instantly regretted the words, as soon as they came out of his mouth.

"It's in the shed. We put it in a trash bag." Hamilton told his friend.

"O-oh. So, why did you call me?" Dan asked another question.

"I need you to call a Cahill meeting. I spoke to the police earlier, and they said that there were no leads on who killed everyone. It seems like we have to do this ourselves."

"Got it. I'll tell Amy." Dan nodded, breathing deeply.

XxXxXx

"Why are we here?" Ian voiced everyone's thoughts, except for Dan, Amy, Hamilton, and Reagan of course. Who knew what was going on.

Amy took a deep breath, her auburn hair flowing freely down her shoulders. "There's been another murder. This time the victim was Madison."

"Wait but I thought that was over! I mean, we _**are**_ out of the museum aren't we?" Atticus blurted out, many pairs of eyes swiveling to stare at him.

"Wait, why are the Rosenblooms here?" Natalie asked, glaring. "Last time I recalled, they weren't Cahills."

"They are here, Natalie, because they were part of the museum killings." Amy winced visibly, the word 'museum' and 'killings' left a bad taste in her mouth.

The rich girl huffed, giving the Rosenblooms one last suspicious glare before turning away.

"So who is the murderer? Did Hamilton or Reagan see anything?" Sinead interrupted, breaking the silence.

"I think it was Ian." Hamilton barked out, his eyes as cold as ice.

"Now why would you think that?" Ian said calmly.

"Well first off, you don't seem surprised that Madison was killed. Second off, I wouldn't put it above you to hurt yourself for others to think you are innocent."

"You are forgetting something. I was unconscious during most of it." Ian replied.

"Wait wait wait, speaking of unconsciousness, did anyone else hear a gasp when Ian was stabbed?" Ned asked curiously. He was sure that his ears weren't tricking him.

"I did." Amy said, frowning in thought. "The gasp sounded surprised, like that person didn't mean to hurt Ian."

"Well I still think it was Ian. He could have hired people to kill Ted, Jonah, and Madison." Hamilton snorted.

"Well what about you? Does anyone have proof you and Reagan weren't the killers?" Natalie spoke up, defending her brother.

"You think I would **murder** my own sister?!" Reagan shrieked in outrage.

"Maybe, the killer most likely wouldn't put it above themselves to hurt their own sibling." Natalie sneered.

"Wait so you're basically saying that you think I would murder Ted?! Just because I was ahead of most of you!" Sinead butted in, fury brewing inside her as she listened.

"No of course not. We all saw you running to him. And also, when he screamed, you were with us." Natalie scoffed.

"I don't know Natalie, maybe _**you**_ killed Jonah! You were with him at the bathroom when he was killed!" Sinead shot back.

"I was in the bathroom! I left Jonah outside because boys are not _allowed_ inside." Natalie defended herself.

"Yes, don't say such things about my sister." Ian told Sinead.

More people joined in, and soon everyone was arguing over who the murderer was except Amy.

"Guys, stop it!" Amy yelled, but no one listened.

Hamilton was yelling at Ian, and Natalie was arguing with Sinead and Reagan. Dan was defending Hamilton, while Jake was defending Atticus, when someone randomly accused him of being the murderer.

"Stop it!" Amy shouted,no one listened.

"I can't trust you!"

"I wouldn't murder her!"

"You are probably the one who killed them all!"

"STOP IT!" Amy screamed, and the arguing ceased. Everyone stared at her, surprised the shy girl could shout so loud.

"Amy?" Dan reached for her shoulder, uncertain.

The girl slapped it away. "I can't believe you guys! Arguing at a time like this! Jonah is dead! Ted is dead! MADISON IS DEAD!" Amy shrieked, her voice getting higher with each word as tears sprung to her eyes. "I hate that you are accusing each other! I hate that you guys are arguing! You think everyone that died would be okay with us calling each other killers at a time like this?! I hate this! I hate that my family members died! I want to find the murderer! But all you guys can think about is accusing people of murdering them!"

Sinead lowered her gaze, ashamed. Ian, Dan, Hamilton, and everyone else did too. Amy was right. Ted, Madison, and Jonah wouldn't appreciate their arguing.

Tears streamed down Amy's cheeks, and the upset girl stormed up the stairs of her mansion, into her bedroom, and slammed the door, locking it. The Madrigal lay on her bed, crying. She tried to be strong, she really did! But these deaths, these arguments, these _**accusations**_. She couldn't handle it.

XxXxXx

An hour had passed, and Amy still hadn't come out of her room. The rest of the Cahills sat there, not talking. It was nighttime now, and they were still guilty.

Natalie stood, clearing her throat. "I'm going outside." And with that, the girl opened the front door, and left.

XxXxXx

 **A/N: That's it! This chapter was a bit longer than normal so I hope this satisfied your needs. Haha. Anyway, the Cahills should be ashamed for arguing. See you on the next chapter! Bye! Also, please review and tell me how you liked it!**


	11. Discovered

**A/N: Hi guys. Eleventh chapter is up! Yay! *Sighs* Sorry, I'm not as talkative right now. Anyway, let's just start the chapter before you guys start getting annoyed at me.**

"Ames?" Jake Rosenbloom knocked on the mentioned girl's door, worried. It had been two hours, and she still had not returned. Dan and everyone else had 'elected' him to go speak to her.

XxXxXx

" _She's your girlfriend!" Dan argued._

" _But you are her brother! You went through the Clue Hunt and the Vespers together!" Jake protested._

" _But still, she kissed you! The only thing she's ever done was hug me." Dan glared._

" _I vote Jake." Ian interrupted._

" _Same." Hamilton and Sinead nodded._

" _Seems logical." Reagan and Ned added._

" _Seriously, now you guys are ganging up on me!" Jake whined._

" _Jake, just do it." Atticus groaned._

" _Fine." Jake relented, starting to walk up the stairs._ Wish me luck. _He thought._

XxXxXx

"Go away." came the muffled voice of his girlfriend.

"Amy, please come out. We can't solve this without you." Jake begged. "We're sorry we were arguing, everyone was just upset that another person died."

"That's no excuse." Amy replied bitterly. The girl got up, walking over to the door and sliding down to sit with her back against it.

Jake did the same, sighing as he looked up at the roof. "I'm really sorry. Everyone else is to." He murmured.

It took a bit for a reply to come. "…I forgive you, and everyone else."

Jake cheered inwardly, _Victory!_ he thought. "Are you coming out now?" The boy stood, backing away from the door.

The knob turned, the door swinging open to reveal a certain auburn haired leader of the Madrigal branch.

Jake smiled, hugging his girlfriend as he buried his nose in her hair, taking in her scent. "Let's go down." He suggested, pulling away and taking her hand in his.

Amy nodded, starting to pull him along as she trotted down the stairs carefully, clutching the rails for extra safety.

XxXxXx

"We're sorry, Amy!" Chorused the group as Amy and Jake entered the room, hand in hand.

The girl smiled. "I forgive you guys. Just don't do it again, or else." She glared.

The rest of the people nodded vigorously, starting to sit on the chairs and couches.

"Hamilton, did you see anything on Madison's body that was unusual?" Amy asked, getting straight to the point.

The Holt shook his head. "I just found her like that, unmoving. It looked like she was asleep." He answered.

"I saw something." Reagan offered.

"Mind you tell us what?" Ian asked.

The girl nodded, starting to speak. "When I was kneeling by her bed, I saw a small puncture hole at the base of her neck, like someone poked wanted to put something in there."

Sinead frowned in thought. "Why didn't you mention this before?"

"Well I didn't want to…to…" Regan searched for the word she was looking for, it was on the tip of her tongue.

"Alarm people?" Ned offered.

"Yeah, that."

"How big was the hole?" Amy asked.

"It was small, about the size of the tip of a sharpened pencil."

"I think that the hole could have come from a sharp needle, or a dart gun. Most likely the killer injected some kind of poison into her blood stream." Sinead concluded after a few moments of thoughtful silence.

"I agree with Sinead." Dan spoke.

Atticus nodded. "It seems like the most logical conclusion."

"Then the killer is someone who most likely uses needles, or darts." Amy said.

"Irina used needles, didn't she? They were on her nails and laced with poison." Natalie suggested.

"But Irina is dead." Dan reminded the girl. "Even if she was alive, she wouldn't kill anyone. She was a good guy!"

"Dan's right." Amy backed up her brother.

"Wait…I know someone else who uses darts." Dan came to a realization, the young Madrigal backed away from his spot near Natalie.

"Dan? What's wrong?" Sinead asked, everyone else in the room stared at him.

"It was you, wasn't it?" Dam whispered, pointing at Natalie.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The girl replied simply.

"Cut the crap! You're the killer aren't you?!" Dan shouted.

The British girl stood, sighing as she pulled out her dart gun. "I really wished you could have just kept quiet, Daniel."

The rest of the room backed away immediately, realizing what was going on.

"Natalie? You're the killer?" Ian asked, disbelief shone in his eyes. "Why? Why would you kill them?"

"Why? WHY?!" Natalie replied, a malicious grin spreading across her lips. "I killed them! Because I should have gotten the serum! _**I**_ should have been the one to have the power! Not Mother! ME! _**ME!"**_ Natalie shrieked as she pointed her dart gun at Amy.

"Natalie, stop this." Ian demanded.

"Ian, I did not mean to stab you, for that I am very sorry. The one I wanted to stab was Amy. Or her little boyfriend Jake." The girl sneered.

"So that's why there was a gasp…" Amy whispered.

Natalie nodded curtly, standing on the separate side of the room, nearest to the door as the rest of the Cahills stood on the other side.

"Natalie, stop. This isn't going to change anything." Ian said, starting to walk towards his sister.

"One step closer and Daniel gets shot. He'll die within a week if you don't get the cure, which only I have." Natalie said, swiveling her dart gun to point at the surprised teen.

Ian immediately stopped. As much as he despised his distant relative, he didn't want him dead.

"Good." Natalie started backing away, her weapon still pointed at a frozen Dan. The rich girl kept one hand on her gun, another reached for the doorknob as she fumbled slightly. Finally, she opened the door, starting to step out.

"Natalie don't do this." Amy whispered as the girl slowly stepped out.

"Oh Amy, I already did." And then she pulled the trigger.

"DAN!" Amy shrieked, the world seemingly slowed down. The girl could only watch as the dart flew towards her brother.

"No!" Amy's head turned, hearing Ian yell and start running towards Dan.

And then the world went back to normal.

XxXxXx

Dan stood there, shocked as Ian was hit by the poisonous dart. "Why?" He whispered. "Why would you do that?! You idiot!" He shouted, catching Ian as the boy fell to the floor, the poison already taking effect.

"As much as I absolutely hate you, Daniel, I do not wish to see you die because of my sister's actions." Ian murmured, the room starting to spin.

And then the world went black, and Ian knew nothing but darkness.

XxXxXx

 **A/N: I hope you liked this chapter! The Cahills have** _ **finally**_ **figured out that Natalie was the killer. After what? Three deaths? Yeah I think so. And Ian got hurt again! Great. Talk about heroic XD. Anyways, please review and tell me how you liked it and what I need to improve on!**


	12. Escape

**A/N: I know probably none of you who are reading this besides those who already reviewed will do this, but enjoy the chapter! And afterwards, I would greatly appreciate it if you reviewed!**

XxXxXx

Running.

She ran, quickly, and as fast as she could. She ran away from the mansion, into her car, and then drove.

"Natalie!"

"Don't do this!"

"Please! Come back!"

"It doesn't have to be this way!"

Natalie's eyes widened, hearing Dan's voice. Hadn't she hurt him, with the dart? The dart wasn't poisoned, it was just laced with sleep serum. She caught on to the other voices. Amy. Jake. Atticus. Sinead. Ned? But where was Ian? Why wasn't he calling her name? _Why are you even asking that question? He hates you. You killed them. He'll never forgive you. There's no going back._ A little voice said in the back of her mind, answering her question.

She listened to the shouts of her name, the wails of the sirens. The British girl closed her eyes. The voice was right. There was no going back. The deed was done. They were dead. She had killed them. And nothing could ever change that.

The teen pressed her foot on the pedal even harder. She swerved, narrowly missing a car as she ran a red light. The screech of tires filled her ears, a loud smash sounding as a car crash occurred.

Natalie winced. She was remorseful. She honestly didn't know why she killed them. It was a moment of anger, and once she gutted Ted, she knew there was no way out.

XxXxXx

Dan rushed outside, watching as Natalie's red Bugatti drove away, clearly going over the speed limit. "NATALIE!" He shouted after her, as loud as his body would let him be.

"Don't do this!"

"Please! Come back!"

"It doesn't have to be this way!"

Dan looked around, others were yelling for her. Amy, Jake, Atticus, even Sinead and Ned were yelling for her to come back.

 _Don't do this to me, Natalie._ Dan silently begged, _I just realized…realized how much you mean to me._

As if hearing his thoughts, the Bugatti in the distance slowed down suddenly. Dan felt his heart rise, was she coming back? Was she going to turn around? Was she…was she going to turn herself in?

 _No._ Dan got his answer, the word ringing in his mind as the car sped up again, running red lights and narrowly avoiding a baby blue van. The red car drove on and on, until it became only a speck in the distance.

Dan felt his heart break in half, the shards floating to the pit of his stomach. She wasn't going to come back.

"It'll be alright." Dan felt arms circle around him, hugging Dan from behind. Amy's voice whispered into his ear softly. Dan could tell, by the tone of her voice, that she was almost just as upset as he was.

The boy hugged his sister back, turning around to face her. "I know," he replied, his voice slightly muffled as he buried his face into her shoulder, "I know." He repeated.

XxXxXx

A blinding light shone into Ian's eyes, and the guy blinked. He looked around. The room was white, all white. Ian's ears caught the beeping of a heart monitor.

 _Hospital,_ he thought immediately. The events came crashing back at full force. Ian's eyes widened, _the poison!_ He thought in a panic. He didn't feel anything wrong with his body. He wasn't paralyzed. He wasn't dizzy. Then what was wrong with him?

Suddenly, Amy's face was hovering over his. A worried expression plastered onto her features.

"Ian, are you okay?" She asked in worry. "You weren't poisoned, the doctors and Sinead said. Natalie just laced the dart with sleeping serum."

"That explains the lack of feeling poisoned." Ian grumbled.

"Hey! Cobra! You up yet?" yelled a familiar, very annoying voice that belonged to a certain Madrigal called Dan.

"Yes, I am up for your information." Ian snorted.

"Good! Cuz Natalie escaped and now a giant manhunt is being held for her." Dan said, approaching the bed.

Ian sighed, closing his eyes as he rested his head on the pillow. _Natalie…why?_ He thought in despair. _Why? Because she is just like Isabel_ _._ A cruel voice said in his mind. _No she isn't! Mother was evil! Natalie isn't!_ Ian argued back. _Oh yeah? If Natalie isn't evil then why did she kill Jonah, Ted, and Madison?_ The voice sneered. Ian couldn't defend her when that was brought up. _Well it doesn't matter. Because I'm going to find her, and I'm going to bring her back to normal._ Ian thought, determination sparking in his eyes.

Because he wasn't going to let Natalie be like Isabel. And he was going to stop her. If it was the last thing he did.


	13. Chasing Natalie

**A/N: Yep! I'm back, again. I try to update this every day, so expect lots and lots of chapters! I would have added a 'my lovely readers' but no one reads this anyways. So there is no point. :(**

Ian raced through the hallway, his head whipping left to right as quickly as possible.

"Natalie!" He called loudly, slowing down to catch his breath. "Natalie! I know you are here!"

Amy, Dan, Jake, Hamilton, Reagan, and Nellie stood beside him, their breaths coming in small gasps as they sucked in air.

"What if she's not here?" Nellie asked, starting to recover from the run.

"She's here, I know it." Ian growled.

Amy ignored the two, pressing a button on her headset in order to talk to Sinead and Ned, who were at the mansion, tracking Natalie.

" _She's moving. Turn left at the next intersection."_ Sinead's voice filled the search team's ears.

Amy nodded, motioning for the group to start running forward. "We're on our way," Amy replied to Sinead, "Keep us updated on when she turns."

" _Right."_

"What are we waiting for, let's go!" Hamilton barked, starting to sprint towards the nearest intersection, everyone else running after him.

"Turn left!" Amy shouted, and everyone obeyed, turning left and continuing to run.

"Come on Natalie," Ian whispered under his breath as he sprinted, "Don't leave, not yet."

"Turn right!" "Go forwards!" Amy shouted commands like there was no tomorrow, they ran nonstop, pushing themselves to go faster.

"I see her!" Dan yelled, and Ian looked up, seeing the dark hair of his sister as she ran away from them.

"NATALIE!" Ian shouted, starting to run even faster.

The girl looked back at the sound of her name and her amber eyes widened considerably at the sight of her brother and the group.

"Natalie! Let us talk to you!" Ian called again, but there was no response. The girl, however, only ran faster.

Dan surprised himself by cursing. Pushing himself to his limits, he sprinted faster than he ever had in his whole life.

Natalie looked back, her panicked expression increasing tenfold.

Dan was a blur, his jade eyes bored into Natalie's back, and he quickly gained ground.

 _Faster. I'm almost there! She's so close!_ Dan thought as he ran. The boy cheered inwardly, seeing a dead end ahead. They had her cornered, hook, line, and sinker.

Natalie only had one idea left. And it was reckless, most likely get her captured, but it was her only idea.

"Natalie!" Dan yelled over the shouts of his own relatives, he was hot on her trail.

The girl slowed down, letting Dan get closer. She watched as a victory smile spread across Dan's lips.

"Yes!" Dan cheered, pumping a fist into the air as he ran even faster. She was slowing down!

But then Natalie doubled back. Sliding under his legs, the British girl ran past the other group, who wasn't far behind, and towards the exit.

The dark haired girl looked back, and watched as Dan crashed face first into the wall.

XxXxXx

Dan moaned, peeling himself of the wall and falling to the floor, laying on his back.

"Dan! Are you okay?" Amy asked worriedly, rushing up to the boy as the others chased after the clever teenager.

"Well my face feels like a wall smashed into it. Oh wait it did. But I'm fine, I'm fine!" Dan said sarcastically, rubbing his nose in pain.

Amy rolled her eyes, "Alright Sergeant Sarcasm, let's go. Natalie is getting away." The leader of Madrigals held out her hand for her brother to grab.

The boy took it, pulling himself up. "Speaking of Natalie…what are we going to do when we catch her?" he asked.

His sister shrugged, "Send her to jail, of course. She killed people so of course she won't get away scot free."

Dan looked slightly sad, but he nodded, "Alright, let's go." The dynamic duo started jogging in the direction that the others went, knowing they would never catch up.

XxXxXx

Ian watched in despair as Natalie got away _**again.**_

The now blue Ferrari zoomed throughout the streets, dodging several cars and passing red lights.

"She's smart, I'll give her that, switching cars so they can't track her down." Nellie sighed from beside him.

Ian sniffed in indignation, "She was _ **always**_ smart!" he huffed.

"Yeah yeah, whatever you say Ian." Hamilton rolled his eyes, "We'll never catch her now anyway."

"Or will we?" Ian smirked, holding up his phone, "I placed a tracker on the car when we got here. I know exactly where she is right now."

"Good," pant, "Job," pant, "Ian." Dan panted, he and Amy had finally caught up to everyone else.

"I always do a good job, Daniel." Ian snorted.

" _Don't_ call me Daniel." Dan seethed, gritting his teeth.

"Okay… _Daniel_."

"It's Dan."

"Daniel."

"Dan."

"Daniel."

"Dan!"

"Daniel."

"Dan!"

"Daniel."

"CALL ME DAN, DAMMIT!" The boy finally shouted, annoyed.

"I suggest you both shut up before I do something." Amy suggested sweetly, her eyes menacing.

Ian and Dan shuddered, "Okay!" they squeaked fearfully.

"That's what I thought." Amy replied.

XxXxXx

Amy and her team trudged into the mansion, tired and sweaty.

"You'll get her next time, everyone." Sinead walked up, a sympathetic expression on her face.

"I don't need your pity." Ian sneered, anger flashing in his amber eyes.

Sinead watched the boy stomp off, surprised.

Amy sighed, patting her best friend's shoulder, "He's just frustrated," She murmured, "Don't take it personally."


	14. Wrong

**A/N: Heyyyy! Sorry I haven't updated this for a bit, I haven't many spurts of creativity lately...just like I haven't had any growth spurts. *Depressed sigh*. Anyways, today's chapter may be a shorter than usual.**

XxXxXx

Ian stormed up the stairs and into his room at the Cahill mansion, Letting out an angry growl, the amber-eyed boy kicked the stand that was placed next to his bed. Pain surged up his toes, but he ignored it, deciding to sit on the bed, his eyes staring into nothingness.

An hour passed, then another. Soon, the minutes were speeding by and Ian was there on his bed, surrounded by an aura of depression.

A knock on the door woke Ian up from his trance, and a familiar voice sounded in his ears.

"Ian?"

"What do you want?" He replied, "Just leave me alone."

"I brought you dinner."

"Really? Doesn't seem like something you would do. Especially if it's me."

An annoyed sigh, "Just open up the door you asshole. You need food."

Giving in to his hunger, the Lucian stood, unlocking the beautifully crafted door to reveal a certain Madrigal with photographic memory.

Stepping in before the man could close the door on him, a slightly embarrassed look crossed his face, "Here, Amy forced me to bring it up to you." Ian nearly dropped the plate of delicious smelling food in surprise, managing to steady it as his mouth watered.

"Thanks." He said politely, starting to shovel food into his mouth in a very ungentlemanly way.

"Wow," Dan snickered, "I've never seen a Cobra eat so messily before."

Ian swallowed his food quickly, "Shut up." He mumbled, shoving another spoonful of food into his mouth.

"Only if you stop calling me Daniel."

"Not happening."

XxXxXx

Natalie walked through the dark tunnel, only the light of her flashlight allowed her to know where she was. Her heels clicking on the floor rhythmically, she put on a serious expression as the walls around her widened, revealing a small room lit by torches.

"I see you're finally here."

The teen wasn't startled as a foreign voice came from behind her, she turned around, narrowing her eyes.

"Why so serious?" The woman chuckled, and Natalie noticed the glint of a gun at the cloaked person's side.

"Spit it out. What do you want? I'm on the run, as you must know." The girl glared.

"Oh I know, of course I do! I just wanted to meet the person that is being chased by about the whole state's police force."

"Really?" Natalie arched an eyebrow, her amber optics suspicious, "Then you've met me, I'm leaving." and with that, she turned on her heel, starting to stride towards the entrance she came through.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." the woman's voice spoke from behind her, and suddenly, the Kabra found the pathway blocked by tall and buff men. Quickly whirling around, her eyes widened as she found the last exit blocked by other bulky, tall men.

"What's the meaning of this?!" She demanded, "Let me out!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible. I'm need you for my plans, Ms. Kabra."

And then the world went black.

XxXxXx

Amy sat on the couch, flipping through the list of victims she had gotten from the police. So far Natalie had killed the security guards, Jonah, Ted, Madison, and had injured some of the police to escape one of her hideouts a few hours earlier.

"Why would you kill them, Natalie? I thought you were one of the good ones." Amy murmured, sighing. Everyone else had gone up to their rooms, leaving her alone to mourn over her murdered relatives.

She sighed, closing the report and placing it on the kitchen table. She wandered around, grabbing an apple to eat. As she munched on the fruit, a growing feeling that something was wrong settled in her stomach. The girl ignored it, thinking that it was just because the police had yet to catch Natalie.

But she was wrong, something wasn't right.

And it had the power to destroy the world.

XxXxXx

 **A/N: And that's the end! Anyway, I had to edit this a bit to make it more understandable. Thanks to _TheGraceOfDawn_ for pointing out my mistake. As a heads up, this story will be ending soon, so don't say I didn't warn you!**


	15. Kidnapped

**A/N: Alright, first of all, I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been busy, and right now this story is my TOP priority since the contest is ending soon. Anyways, enjoy the chapter (I hope) and I'll see you on the next one soon enough!**

XxXxXx

Natalie woke up, her head throbbed furiously. She looked around, her vision blurry from sleep…or was it unconsciousness? She tried to stand, only to find that she couldn't. Her hands were tied together as well as her legs.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." A familiar silky voice purred. Mildly startled, the Lucian refused to show emotion, instead glaring at her captor silently. "My apologies, let me remove the gag."

The strange woman untied the cloth, and Natalie immediately growled at the villain. "What do you want?"

"I want the serum."

The very word sent chills up Natalie's spine. The serum. The same serum that had killed her mother. Her eyes narrowed, and she spit at the woman, "Why should I tell you?"

The woman circled around the Kabra, a hand reaching down to pull the hood from a cloak that currently covered her face and body down. She was, to say the least, stunning. Ebony dark hair flowed around her shoulders, and piercing blue eyes stared straight at Natalie.

"Because, if you don't, I will kill you." The reply came.

A laugh tore out of the murderer's throat, "You think I _care_ if you kill me? Do it! I have nothing left to lose. I've betrayed my family in a fit of rage, killing the weakest one in the bunch, I've murdered more of my family, the ones who would be the most tired, I've killed countless police officers and innocent people in my attempt to escape, for you think I actually _care_ if you kill me is stupid!"

Narrowing her eyes, Natalie's enemy managed to smirk. "Yes? But what would you say…if we killed your dear brother, Ian was it?"

At those words, Natalie froze, "…I'll tell you what you need, but first, what do I call you?" she caved.

A malicious grin rose from within the twisted person, "My name is Mara."

"Good to know. I'm sure you already know my name. I know a few of the ingredients, but we're going to need Dan Cahill."

"That can be arranged."

"Good…just don't hurt him or anyone else unless absolutely necessary."

"Will do."

XxXxXx

Dan had a feeling, a bad one at that. It pooled in his gut, poking at his stomach uncomfortably _Is this what you call a gut feeling?_ He thought despairingly to himself. _If so…I don't want one anymore._

"Dan?" Someone knocked at his bedroom door, and the teen recognized it as his sister from the sound of their voice.

"What?" he groaned, annoyed.

"Well I'm assuming you don't want Nellie's pancakes and bacon judging by that tone?" Amy replied from the hallway.

It took a while for what she was saying to register in his mind. Then it clicked, "WAIT WAIT WAIT! I AIN'T GONNA MISS OUT ON ANY PANCAKES AND BACON!" The Madrigal jumped out of his bed as fast as possible, trying to get on some shorts and a shirt so he wouldn't miss out on the undoubtedly delicious breakfast. He fell down a few times in his haste, but surprisingly got dressed in record time.

The boy threw open the door, revealing his auburn haired sister standing in wait as an amused smile crossed her face, "In a hurry aren't we?" she teased.

"Shut up." Dan muttered in embarrassment.

Amy only smiled.

XxXxXx

Natalie wandered around the base, her amber eyes flitting back and forth. The place was nice, she would give it that. Her heels clicked on the marble floor, the brightly lit hallway shining in the morning sun. Opening the door to her room, the British teenager entered. It was a nice room, seemed to be designed specifically for her.

Kicking off her shoes, Natalie flopped onto the bed in exhaustion. Her hair fell into her eyes, and a dark skinned hand deflected the sun's rays from burning her retina. Her mind whirled in thoughts about the previous events, her mind flashing back to her last conversation with Mara.

XxXxXx

" _When do you think Dan will be captured?" Natalie asked._

" _At the most in about 2 weeks." replied Mara, "If he doesn't fight, which would be unusual, he should be here in a few days."_

 _Natalie then said something very smart along the lines of, "Oh."_

 _Mara smiled in amusement, and curiosity briefly flashed in her eyes, "If you don't mind me asking," she started, but Natalie knew it was to be polite and_ only _polite, "But why did you kill Ted? That seems a bit random if you ask me."_

" _In my fit of temporary rage, I killed him because he is weak." the Kabra replied simply, "He is blind, and though this enhances his other senses, it would be less of a chance for him to tell if it was me due to us rarely interacting. He's also an Ekaterina, and one of the smartest in our group. With Ned, Ted, and Sinead combined they would be able to know it was me faster and that would not work out well. The killing of Ted also, fortunately, made his siblings so distraught that they could not think correctly."_

" _Ah…I see." Mara nodded thoughtfully, examining her long fingernails, "Interesting choice. It seems you've thought out the killings quite thoroughly. What about Madison?"_

" _She was a threat. The Holt and Starlings are close, so they would most likely band together. The same thing with Madison, the Holts were so angered and despaired that they couldn't think straight, resulting in them accusing random people as the murderer in their rage. This worked in my favor, tearing the group apart slightly from the insults they exchanged. Jonah, I simply killed him because his slang was annoying."_

" _Perfect," ebony hair rippled as Natalie's captor nodded to herself, "it's good to know you are on my side."_

" _I'm only in it for Ian, to protect him." The kidnapped girl murmured curtly, starting to walk away, "I'm going to my room, if you don't mind. What number is it again?"_

" _6." Came the only reply._

XxXxXx

 **A/N: And I finally revealed the explanations behind the murders! Yay! Do those make sense! I think so, I reread this a few times. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, leave a review!**


	16. Intrusion

**A/N: First off, I would like to apologize to Scrittore. Sorry, I just couldn't finish it on time. I got really REALLY busy, and I couldn't find the time to write at all. Also, yesterday my dog died. She was the best, and my schedule was filled up more due to us planning to have her buried at a pet cemetery plans and stuff. Today's chapter may be a bit depressing, maybe angst. Second, I would like to let Grass-Berry09 know, yes, this is an A/U. Mara is an OC which kidnapped Natalie for her own plans. Since that basically answers your questions, let's start the story.**

XxXxXx

Ian Kabra stared at his GPS, a red blinking light flickered on the screen. His eyebrow's furrowed in thought, "The Kesarch mansion? Why would Nat be there of all places?"

The Kesarch company was a fairly well known business which specialty was that of creating hunting gear. Ian's father had in fact owned a few of their products, such as a hunting knife and rifle. Everyone who knew who and what the Kesarch building was of course knew where the owner of it lived. Mara Kesarch, the creator of the business was deemed a kind woman. Not to mention beautiful. Most people thought her as something close to a goddess, but Ian didn't like her. Her kindness seemed like a façade, and Ian usually caught a glint of cruelty in her eyes as he watched her on TV.

Rain poured outside, the water tapping on the glass windows and roof continuously. A particularly loud thump pulled the Kabra from his thoughts. Taking a sip of his chamomile tea, he sighed. Not a sigh of contentment, oh it was anything but that. It was a sigh of dread, sadness, despair, and frustration. _Perfect weather for the day._ Ian thought. A feeling of dread and fear drifted around Amy and Dan's mansion, squeezing through the cracks below the doors and tearing down everyone's last bit of happiness.

Ian glanced back at his device, pulling out his phone as he urged himself to stay awake, the chamomile tea making his eyes droop. He let out another sigh, starting to research the Kesarch family and their history.

"I'll find you Natalie. And whatever business Mara has with you can't be good. When I get my hands on her, I'll make her pay."

XxXxXx

Amy lay on the couch, her head resting on Jake's lap. Her boyfriend gloomily petted her head, weaving his fingers through his girlfriend's auburn strands.

Dan, as if on cue, came down the stairs. His hair was a mess, and dark bags rested underneath his eyes. His clothes were wrinkled, as if he had tossed and turned all night.

"Couldn't sleep?" Amy asked, sitting up. She ignored Jake's slight growl of protest.

"Gee, you are SO smart Ames." The boy replied sarcastically.

"Well of course. Someone has to be the intelligent one in this family." Amy attempted to joke, and a small smile carved its way onto Dan's face. A second later it was gone, however.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine Amy." Dan said tiredly as he made his way to the kitchen for some hot chocolate.

"I'll worry about you all I want, and you can't stop me." The sister retorted indignantly.

"Sure, sure. I'm going back to my room."

"Try and get some rest, dweeb."

Dan didn't reply.

XxXxXx

Ian awoke, looking at the clock besides his bed. _5:00 pm_ , it read. Realizing that he had fallen asleep, the teen scrambled for his GPS, seeing that the red dot was still at the Kesarch mansion. "Good," he sighed, "no way I'm driving farther than that."

He got up, starting to grab some of his gear; two pistols, rope, knives, extra ammo, food, tranquilizer darts, a tranquilizer, a few smoke bombs, and of course, his phone. The guy pulled on some dark clothing, namely a black sweater, black jeans, and some tennis shoes.

"Okay, I got this. I'm going to go to the Kesarch mansion, grab Natalie, injure some of the people that try to stop us, and come back here. That's it. It's going to be a piece of cake, as Daniel says." Ian breathed nervously. He nodded to himself, sneaking outside and into his small car.

XxXxXx

2 hours later, a black car rumbled along the streets near a particularly large mansion.

Ian pulled up to the humongous estate. His amber eyes scanned it briefly, after parking his car across the street as to not cause any suspicion, the teen quietly trotted towards the walls. He managed to make it over the brick wall, using small ledges to climb up.

He dropped into the bushes as quietly as he could be, observing his surroundings. Yes, he knew he should have researched more, but he couldn't wait. He wanted Natalie back. He _needed_ her back.

After examining the mansion rather closely, Ian spotted a security guard. Slithering like a snake, the Lucian grabbed the guard from behind, a gloved hand covering his mouth as the bulky man protested. A few seconds of struggling passed, but eventually, Ian slammed the guy into a nearby tree, effectively knocking him out.

Dragging the body behind the bushes, the dark haired boy snuck to the side of the house. He tested the windows, disappointed to find that they were locked. Taking a different approach, Ian peered into each room on the bottom floor, trying to find the one which might contain his sister. After 15 minutes of spying, he gave up.

"Oh, just screw it."

Ian slammed the butt of one of his knives into the glass. It cracked. Again, Ian rammed it against the window. Again, again, again, and again. Then, finally, it shattered. The glass fell onto the floor, and Ian froze, waiting for someone to wake up.

Surprisingly, no one did. Taking this chance and not wanting to pass it on, Ian climbed inside the house and started wandering around. He knew it was strange for no one to wake up. He knew it was suspicious, but he ignored it. That is, until a blinding light blinded him and the house was suddenly brightly lit.

"Well, look what we have here. Someone has broken into my house! What am I to do with him?" A malicious voice trilled, and Ian stared into the unblinking blue eyes of none other than Mara Kesarch.

XxXxXx

 **A/N: And that's it. Sorry guys if you were hoping for something better. It's all I can do for now. Once again, I'm sorry Scrittore. I just couldn't finish it. Too much is on my plate right now and I am INCREDIBLY stressed out. I'm going to have to finish it on my own time. But on the bright side, happy Halloween everyone!**


	17. Realizations and Reunions

XxXxXx

Ian narrowed his eyes, his top lip curling slightly in anger. "Where's Natalie?!" he hissed in a rage.

"Now why should I do that?"

"Because if you don't, I will not hesitate to hurt you."

"Tsk tsk tsk." Mara tutted, "Now I wouldn't be saying that if I were you. After all, I have the advantage here. Don't you see all of my guards?" she gestured to the circle of men surrounding Ian.

Not willing to accept defeat, the teen replied, "It's either I hurt and maybe kill you, or I die trying."

"Ah, but that wouldn't be very considerate for poor little Natalie would it? There goes her only way of escape!" the woman countered.

A growl rumbled in Ian's chest and he, after lots of arguing with himself, submitted. "Fine," he sneered, "but this doesn't mean that I won't come back." With that, he turned to leave. Only to be stopped by Mara, the devil herself.

"Where do you think you're going? I never said I would let you go now would I? Natalie's room is number six on the second floor. You'll be a temporary _guest_ in my humble abode until further notice."

On cue, 3 men surrounded Ian. Two on his sides and one behind him, all of them held guns. Narrowed eyes glared at Mara, and the British boy started to move towards the stairs. He didn't comment on the chosen room number, six. _Number six, the number of the devil._ Ian thought to himself wryly.

"Move it kid," guard number 1 grunted, "I just want some sleep."

Ian climbed up the stairs slowly, one by one, step by step. He trudged down the dimly lit hallway, ashamed of his rash actions. Amy wouldn't have approved. Soon enough, he reached the door labled with a "6". He slowly placed his hand on the knob, and turned it. The white door swung open to reveal none other than Natalie Kabra.

"Ian?!"

"…Hey Nat."

Ian was then tackled in a tight hug.

XxXxXx

Amy knocked on Ian's door. No answer came. She knocked again, a hand resting on the doorknob. She pressed he ear to the door, listening for any signs of movement or breathing. Amy's frown deepened once no sounds entered her ears.

A sigh escaped her lips, and she walked to the cabinet in the kitchen where she and Dan kept the spare keys for the rooms.

Amy grabbed the key for Ian's room, it took a few tries before she managed to open the door. Walking into the room, Amy called out hesitatingly.

"Ian? Are you here?"

No response.

The girl called out again, "Ian?"

Still no response.

By now, Amy knew he wasn't here. She started shuffling around his room, looking around for any sign of where he might have gone. She then noticed a black device resting on Ian's bed. Taking a closer look at it, the auburn haired teen recognized it as a GPS. The screen was zoomed in on a single, blinking red dot. Amy immediately recognized the location.

"The Kesarch mansion," Amy whispered, "he wouldn't….Yes he would, when it comes to Natalie. Oh crap."

The woman's eyes widened considerably. Ian was at the Kesarch mansion. He was probably captured.

Amy sprinted out of the room, grabbing her friend's GPS as she burst into Dan's room.

"We have a problem. A huge one."

XxXxXx

 **A/N: *Wince* Yeah, I'm really tired right now. Sorry this couldn't be longer. I'll try and write an EXTRA EXTRA long one next time to try and end it. Anyway, bye everyone and see you on the next chapter.**


	18. I'll See You Again

**A/N: Alright guys! This might will be the final chapter! I'm a little more cheerful today because of this. So I'll enjoy my happiness while I can. Enjoy the chap!**

XxXxXx

Ian stumbled over in surprise. They stood for a few moments in silence, and Ian was able to register the sound of the door closing and the heavy footsteps of the guards as they left. Soon enough, the shock started to wear off and the amber eyed teen managed to hug his sister back.

"I missed you, Ian."

Natalie broke the silence quietly. The Lucian offered her a strained smile, he was happy, of course he was! Why wouldn't he be happy to see his sister? But, a part of him wasn't happy. Being in a room with your sister who's also a murderer made him uncomfortable. After a long (and awkward) silence, Ian replied.

"…I missed you too, Natalie."

The girl smiled faintly, looking up at her older brother in undisguised joy. But then, the grin faded.

"Why are you here?" she asked, "Why did you come? You know Mara is…evil."

"Well SOMEONE had to come and save you." Ian sneered, back to his normal, snooty self.

"So, you are going to rescue me by getting captured?" Natalie retorted.

"I-"

"Save it." The Kabra snapped, huffing impatiently. "The only way to get rescued now is if Amy and the others find us. Even then it would take them a bit, who knows what Mara could've done to us by then."

"Trust me, if I know Amy and Dan well enough, they'll be here within the next 3 hours and 30 minutes, including the time to drive here."

A few minutes passed by when Natalie didn't respond, until she prompted him.

"How well do you know them?"

That question would ring in Ian's ears for the next few hours.

XxXxXx

The next few hours passed, and right when it hit the 3 hours and 40 minutes mark, Natalie frowned.

"I guess you didn't know them well enough after all."

That is, until a familiar cheery face popped up in the window. Natalie almost screamed.

' _Open the window'_ Dan mouthed.

Ian immediately complied, sliding the window up, just enough space for Dan to squeeze through.

The teen immediately tumbled in, a smirk crossing his face, "Guess who's fashionably late? None other than Dan Cahill!

Natalie only rolled her eyes, "Yeah yeah, just get us outta here." she grumbled.

"Sorry, no can do, Hamilton's still taking out all of the guards outside along with Reagan." Dan then turned his gaze to Ian. His shoe covered feet strode towards him, he stopped.

Ian's head jerked to the side slightly as he was punched by his fellow Cahill.

"Ow! What was that for?!" the injured playboy yelped.

"Well let's see, you ran off to save Natalie alone, you didn't ask for help, you're an idiot, you got yourself captured, and you are a total jerk." Dan counted on his fingers, and Ian visibly winced.

"I guess you have a point there."

"Which one, the jerk part or the idiot part?"

"None, you imbecile, I was talking about me going off to save Natalie alone and not asking for help!"

"Whatever you say, Ian." the teen smirked. He then stopped talking, placing a finger on his earpiece.

" _We've managed to take out all of the guards. No big deal. Mara has fled to the basement, typical."_ Ian was able to make out Hamilton's voice, barely.

"Alright, I'm with Ian and Natalie right now. We're coming down to the first floor." Dan replied seriously, "What's Amy doing?"

" _She's checking the house for any traps and hidden lackeys of Mara. So far she's found and disabled 5 traps with the help of Sinead. I think we got all of the guards though. But you never know."_

"Got it. See ya soon, Ham." Dan turned to Ian and his sister. "Let's go, the door is gonna have to be broken down though. I got a small, attachable bomb but we're gonna have to stand as far away as we can from the door."

"Why are you chatting to us about your plan, just do it!" Natalie cut in sharply, already heading to the corner near the queen sized bed.

"Fine then, Ms. Queen-Of-The-World." The dirty blonde haired guy muttered as he set up the explosive. A few moments later he was ready, "All right! To the corner everyone! 3, 2, 1!"

 _BOOM!_

The door shook, and a large hole formed in the middle of it.

Natalie ran over, climbing out and into the hallway. She led the two boys down to the first floor, where she was met by the rest of the rescue team. It consisted of Sinead, Amy of course, Hamilton, and Reagan.

"Natalie!" Amy shrieked, rushing to hug her.

Natalie stumbled back slightly in surprise. She stood there, hands laying at her sides limply. When Amy pulled away, she put on a serious face.

"We need to get out of here." Amy announced.

"What about Mara?" Dan asked, frowning.

"We can't risk another one of our family dying." His sister answered.

"All right, everyone, let's go, before the guards wake up."

Everyone nodded, starting to file out the door and into the three cars, including Ian's.

XxXxXx

Amy sat on the couch, explaining what had happened to Nellie and Ned, who had stayed and helped from the mansion. Once she was done, she turned to Natalie.

"Sorry Natalie, you're going to jail." She told the girl. "We can't let you pass for murdering people, especially our family members."

The teenager smiled faintly, sitting next to her brother. "I understand," she said, "what I did was horrible and unforgivable. Hamilton, Reagan, Ned, and Sinead, I just want to say I'm sorry."

"Sometimes sorry isn't enough." Hamilton replied bitterly.

"What he said." Sinead chimed in.

"I know, and I'm still sorry. There is nothing I can do to repent for it, and that is my sin. I'm sorry. I will forever be sorry. I completely and fully understand and hold no grudges if you never wish to speak with me again."

"I…I can forgive you. Someday, if you convince me. Maybe….maybe we can still be friends., but right now I can't. I can't get over the fact you killed my brother. You killed Hamilton's sister. You killed Jonah. I'm sorry Natalie."

The Kabra didn't look surprised, more like disappointed. But she nodded, "I understand. I'm sorry."

Just then, police sirens sounded outside. Natalie jumped slightly.

"It's time. Goodbye, Ian." She whispered, getting up.

"Bye, Natalie." Ian hugged his sister.

"I'll see you again." She promised.

"I don't doubt that."

XxXxXx

 **A/N: And that's it! I finally finished! Yay! Thanks to Scrittore, who gave me enough time to complete this and for also hosting that challenge that got me to start writing. Good luck to all contestants, and I hope you win! Thanks for reviewing, please check out my other stories!**


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